In a contest that saw a pair of double-doubles occur and four players score in double figures for Prairie View A&M, those accomplishments were nearly wasted as the Panthers held on for dear life in a 74-72 win over Alabama State in the William Nicks Building on Saturday evening.

In typical Prairie View A&M-Alabama State fashion, the first half featured an astounding eight ties and 11 lead changes. 

From the opening tip, neither squad could pull away as both teams matched each other's baskets.  The much-shorter Alabama State committed to the three-point line early on while the Panthers attacked the Hornets from a variety of ways as junior post Josh Eleby took control of the paint with five of his 10 first-half points within the first five minutes.  Senior Jourdan DeMuynck also had a solid half as the San Leandro, Calif. native stunned the Hornets with a solid inside-outside game which netted him 11 first-half points.

Down 31-30 with 2:17 remaining, the Panthers finally settled into an offensive groove as Jules Montgomery tipped in his own rebound for a 32-31 advantage.  ASU's Shawntez Patterson missed a trey on the ensuing possession and the Panthers, who dominated ASU on the boards throughout the contest, extended its lead to 34-31 as Eleby scored off a putback.  ASU turned the ball over on the next possession and the Panthers went into the half on a roll as DeMuynck capped off the 7-0 run with a trey at the four-second-mark for a 37-31 halftime advantage.

Prairie View A&M began the second half on a roll as they stormed out to a 46-31 lead after a 7-0 surge less than three minutes in.  The Panthers were cruising from that point with a safe lead but ASU refused to back down as they trimmed PV's lead to seven points (50-43) via a 12-4 run to creep back into the game.  The Panthers took a timeout following the run and answered ASU's strike as they upped their lead back to double digits at the 6:28 mark thanks to team effort during a 17-8 surge.

Ahead 67-51 with 6:28 remaining, the Panthers began to become too relaxed as they committed six turnovers which allowed ASU to heat up and outscore the Panthers 22-6 over the next six minutes to climb back within 73-72 as Ryan Watts nailed a trey with 25 seconds remaining.  Prairie View A&M committed a costly turnover on the ensuing possession but ASU failed to capitalize as they returned the favor with a turnover at the three-second mark.

With ASU forced to foul, PV senior guard Carl Blair went to the free throw stripe with two seconds left and hit 1-of-2 baskets for a 74-72 advantage.  ASU's Bobby Brown rebounded the ball but was too far away as his desperation trey fell way short of the basket as the Panthers squeaked out their third straight win over ASU dating back to 2012.

Blair had a career night as he finished one rebound short of a triple-double with 13 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.  DeMuynck followed with 17 points and 11 rebounds while Josh Eleby tallied 10 points and nine rebounds.  Jules Montgomery also had a strong game with 14 points, eight rebounds and a blocked shot.

The Panthers close out their homestand Monday night with a contest versus Alabama A&M at 7:30 p.m.